Cover story

i can't imagine what you must be going through, ryan but just know that we're all thinking of you & hoping jessica's family & friends will find some peace soon. that is, if the POS guy & his equally POS aunt open their traps & confess!! arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!! :twisted:

They showed the guy walking into the cop shop on Milwaukee TV last night.............I hope it turns out well, but it sure doesn't look good.
Ryan.......please let your friend's family know they are in our prayers.

You have to be kidding me, 2nd degree murder for something that was "intentional"? I thought the word "intentional" means that he did it on purpose, therefore had it premeditated. Thus there will be proof of actus reus and mens rea, enough to charge this man with 1st degree, instead of 2nd.

No idea on why it's second degree, that is better than what the warrent was issued for though: criminal homicide. Hopefully if they can get her body or some more evidence they can move it to first degree. Hmmm I just looked this up, not that we would be so lucky, but NE still has the death penalty, Electricution... Time to fire that baby up. Jury decides on aggravators (must be unanimous); 3 Judge panel decides sentence

Words just can't express the outrage at the lack of thought and wastefulness of such a crime.
He took the future of her and her future family away.
He threw his own life away.
It is beyond the scope of words.

Man, so sorry for all the innocent parties involved. A parent's worst nightmare!

And yet, in our "highly advanced" society, there are still many amongst us who wish for this ******* to draw air. Strap him in and crank the voltage up gradually to assure he feels some protracted and serious pain....just like the family and friends of her are feeling right now.

It is amazing how ignorant people can be. There is no serious reason for the death penalty. The guy that did this is a bastard and should never be allowed to roam free again, but in killing him it shows that we as a society are just as bad as he is. Let him stay in jail until he dies, having to live knowing what he did, and knowing that he will never have free will ever again.

It is amazing how ignorant people can be. There is no serious reason for the death penalty. The guy that did this is a ****** and should never be allowed to roam free again, but in killing him it shows that we as a society are just as bad as he is. Let him stay in jail until he dies, having to live knowing what he did, and knowing that he will never have free will ever again.

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To hell with watching the political line here.

In our "justice" system, there is a MAJOR FLAW. I am in Canada, but rest assured the same flaw exists in both judiciaries. The problem is that real sick basterds can get out of the jail time they should serve.

Same as in America, there are many ways to escape jail, and earning parole is just one of them. A person can plead insanity, or fake remorse to get time cut off his sentence and get early release for being an "ideal citizen".

The Death Penalty IS A MUST. It is what covers up this flaw to a certain degree. In Canada there is no death penalty, but there is in America, and I believe Canada should have one too.

In the death penalty, you are sentenced to a prision term until you are executed. No exceptions or chances for parole or any other way of getting out early. However, a person is allowed the RIGHT to have an UNLIMITED number of appeals for a death row conviction.

I won't get too heavy, but it has been proven that the possbility of having your life ended through death penalty serves as a pretty heavy deterrent.

It is amazing how ignorant people can be. There is no serious reason for the death penalty. The guy that did this is a ****** and should never be allowed to roam free again, but in killing him it shows that we as a society are just as bad as he is. Let him stay in jail until he dies, having to live knowing what he did, and knowing that he will never have free will ever again.

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BS.

With a guy who's as big a POS as this A-hole sounds like, (assuming he's found guilty of course) you strap him to the chair, flip the switch and sleep soundly that evening. The problem with the death penalty is that it is not used effectively, not that it exists.

In Canada, the system is such that if a person is sentenced to life in prision, they are eligable for parole after 1/3 of their sentence. After 2/3 of their time is done, they should get parole. If still they don't, after 25 years, the person MUST get parole. You call this fair?

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While I agree with the majority of your post, this is not exactly correct. Certain individuals (i.e. those convicted of first degree murder) are not eligible for parole for at least 25 years. These cases are few and far between (usually reserved for those who kill cops), but they do exist.

In Canada, the system is such that if a person is sentenced to life in prision, they are eligable for parole after 1/3 of their sentence. After 2/3 of their time is done, they should get parole. If still they don't, after 25 years, the person MUST get parole. You call this fair?

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While I agree with the majority of your post, this is not exactly correct. Certain individuals (i.e. those convicted of first degree murder) are not eligible for parole for at least 25 years. These cases are few and far between (usually reserved for those who kill cops), but they do exist.

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Yeah I probably messed that up. I'm at home and didn't have my law text books, and I remembered reading something about this, and I must have gotten the facts mixed up. I knew it was definitly something to do with 25 years, but the 1/3 and 2/3 thing must have been something else I got mixed up.

My appologies, will have to get the exact details for future reference! (Glad exams are still a week away! )

So ignorant. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is best for this situation. The guy can never cause this sort of harm again. One of the biggest misconceptions about the death penalty is that it is cheaper than life in prison. Not true. It costs more to put someone to death than keep them in prison. It has been proven to not be a deterrent. There is no reason for it. I understand people that have someone close to them killed wanting the person that did it to die, but the justice system has to be more reasonable than that. State sponsored murder is still murder. I don't see how that sets an example for anybody.

1/3 2/3 is a credit system on a normal sentence. You essentially get one day reduced from your sentence for every day you serve with good behaviour to a maximum of 1/3 of your sentence. It effectively results in you serving only 1/3 of your sentence because you generally get a 1/3 deduction off the top.

Thanks TO, will have to remember that for future reference.
(I'm wondering, you ever consider switching into some criminal law?)

SuperRat said:

One of the biggest misconceptions about the death penalty is that it is cheaper than life in prison. Not true. It costs more to put someone to death than keep them in prison. It has been proven to not be a deterrent.

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You are correct, BUT the fact is there is an average waiting time of 11 years before a person sentenced to the death penalty is executed (This is from a couple of years back, time may have changed now). This is because the justice system is so crowded with individuals on death row, and add to that the fact that an individual on death row is given UNLIMITED number of appeals on their conviction. This means criminals often times, who are guilty of a sever crime and deserve to die, are appealing their sentences in hopes of not being executed. Therefore the unlimitied appeals are what raise the cost of keeping someone on death row. Their appeals take a financial toll on the justice system, and also keep the criminal alive for a longer period of time, which increases the costs of housing the criminal in jail. Thus the taxpayers money is going to waste.

Thus the due process of a the death penalty which serves to make sure no innocent people are killed is what casues these high costs. Co-incedently, so many appeals from people on death row also prove that individuals don't want ot be executed, since they are afraid of being dead. I think this shows that the death penalty does indeed work, to some level, as a deterance.

Innocent people have been on death row. Appeals save lives. It is innocent lives vs. taxpayer money. Of course criminals on death row don't want to be executed. That is common sense, not deterrence. Deterrence is whether or not they decide that commiting the crime is not worth the risk because if they get caught they may be killed. If you compare murder rates between states with and states without the death penalty it is pretty clear that there is no deterrent effect. Texas puts more people to death than anybody and they have a higher than average murder rate. People that commit these crimes don't care about the consequences because they don't expect to get caught. It has been pretty clearly shown recently that at least one person on death row that was executed was indeed innocent. Yes appeals cost the taxpayers money but it comes down to what taxpayers value more. Innocent human lives or money. Sadly I think the country is at a stage where more people would choose money.

Super, I agree that the appeals are there for innocent people, but you have to understand the guilty abuse this process a great deal.

I also agree with the real deterance being getting caught, but I believe at some level, the fear of getting the worse possible fate, death, also acts as somewhat of a deterance. Deterance is something that deters the individual from acting unlawful, and to some degree the fear of ultimately being punished by death does come in. But you are correct, there is no bigger deterance than the fear of getting caught, but I think there are a few more minor ones that often get overlooked.

As for the innocent people loosing their lives, the philosophy of the North American justice systems is that it is better to set a 1000 guilty men free, before convicting 1 innocent man. But this philosophy has been changed, and is hardly in use now. Time causes changes, and the philosophy of our justice system is just one example.